Many soap bars with various appearances have been developed which, as a rule, depend upon various optical effects. Those soap bars enjoy a great popularity with the consumer. It has been known for quite some time that one can manufacture transparent soap bars. Marbled or striped soaps have also been on the market for a long time. A particularly esthetically appealing soap consists of two equally sized halves which are colored differently. Manufacture of such soap is the subject matter of German Auslegeschrift No. 2,049,268.
Soaps are also known which contain a smaller piece of soap which is embedded in a base body of soap. The smaller piece usually has a color which contrasts with the color of the base body. Such soaps and their manufacture are described in German Offenlegungschriften Nos. 1,617,253 and 1,617,254.
A disadvantage of soaps in general and especially of the above described "inlaid soaps" is the fact that the additional characters, emblems or other marks imprinted on the surface of such soaps, which serve for the differentiation and embellishment of the optical make-up of the soap, are quickly removed by wear. Thus due to wear of a partially used soap bar, it is no longer possible for the user to determine which brand has been used. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a new type of soap bar and to a particularly suited process for manufacturing the soap bar.
It has been discovered that one can overcome the prior disadvantages in soaps whereby one may recognize such applied characters, emblems, marks, and so forth, during practically the entire useful life of the soap bar and especially at the end of their usage.
This objective is met by a soap bar which consists of a soap bar body of customary composition and of at least one smaller piece of soap embedded into its surface in a cavity having a relief design at the bottom of the cavity. The cavity then serves to take up the smaller embedded piece of soap which itself may have imprinted on its surface a similar relief design in the form of a character, emblem, heraldic figure or other mark.
As a result of the construction of the inventive soap, it is possible to maintain the imprinted mark visible throughout the usage period of the soap bar even when the initial imprinted mark on the surface of the soap (e.g., on the smaller inset piece of soap) has already been washed off. It is also possible to mark this mark visible again in the almost washed away soap bar.
The subject matter of the present invention further comprises a process for manufacturing a soap bar according to the invention. The process comprises manufacturing a soap bar in a known manner, stamping out a cavity therein and providing at the bottom of the cavity an imprint, preferably having a raised design. Subsequently, a smaller, preshaped piece of soap is inserted in the cavity of the soap body provided for the purpose.
The insertion of the smaller piece of soap into the cavity of the base soap body can be optimally achieved if the smaller piece of soap to be imbedded as well as the cavity of the base soap body are shaped as a cone or section of a cone.